Activities

Significant legal, judicial, and political developments directly affecting the state of the rule of law in Greece have taken place since the report we submitted to the European Commission in January 2026 and the addendum we submitted in February 2026.

This second addendum to our report provides an overview of these developments and should be read in conjunction with our previous contributions to the Rule of Law Report. The second addendum is also available in Greek here.

In the early hours of 30 April 2026, the Israeli Navy intercepted vessels of the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing off the coast of Crete carrying humanitarian aid. The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, denounce this raid and call on the Israeli authorities to immediately release all the activists illegally detained, and call on the Greek authorities to act immediately to secure the activists’ safe release.

Find the joint statement in the FIDH’s website here.

Working for an organisation registered in the “NGO Registry” of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum becomes a punishable offence with the proposed changes to Articles 24 and 25 of the Migration Code.

After five years of constant recommendations from the European Commission, the Council of Europe and the UN to put an end to arbitrary restrictions on the work of civil society organisations supporting refugees and migrants, the Ministry continues to target the organisations deemed inconvenient solely for carrying out their work.

The International Federation for Human Rights – FIDH has issued a statement on Greece, calling for an end to the systematic targeting of civil society organisations active in the fields of asylum and migration.

The undersigned human rights and humanitarian organizations and trade unions urge the EU to ensure that the ongoing review of Israel’s compliance with article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement be thorough, comprehensive, and credible.

The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) has been submitting reports to the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in accordance with Rule 9.2 of the Rules of the Committee of Ministers regarding the Nisiotis group of cases (34704/08).

On Tuesday 4 February, a Press Conference on the current state of the Rule of Law in Greece was successfully held at the Athens Bar Association with a significant turnout. The event was organised by the independent organisations Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), HIAS Greece, Homo Digitalis, Refugee Support Aegean (RSA), Reporters United, Solomon, and Vouliwatch.

The annual report of the European Commission on the state of the Rule of Law is interpreted by the Greek Government as a positive recognition of its policies and actions—a fact that, however, appears to be in stark contradiction with the observations and concerns expressed by international organizations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe regarding the country’s institutions.

DEMOCRACY WITH NO AIR

The State of the Rule of Law in Greece Today

Tuesday 4 February

Time: 11:00 AM

Athens Bar Association (60 Akadimias St., Athens)

Call for the adoption of an additional Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment

To the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and to the Permanent Representatives of the Member States of the Council of Europe

The Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) has published the study titled: “Police, Brutality and Fundamental Rights: An overview of police arbitrariness in Greece”. Drawing on its many years of experience, the HLHR presents a comprehensive study on police violence and arbitrariness in Greece, highlighting the systematic nature of the phenomenon.

Greece: EU Ignores Deteriorating Rule of Law
Misleading Report Plays Down Curbs in Media, Civic Space

(Brussels, August 1, 2024) – The European Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law Report, published on July 24, 2024, misleads readers about the state of the rule of law in Greece at a time when media freedom and civic space face dire threats and attacks, 14 human rights and media freedom organizations said today.

The overly positive account in the report starkly contrasts an alarming reality experienced by journalists, activists, and civil society organizations on the ground, and a growing international concern over the deterioration of the rule of law in the country, which was highlighted by 17 human rights and press freedom groups in a February 2024 letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.